Spread around 55 square kilometres, and sharing borders with Chhattisgarh, Budha Pahad of Jharkhand was a stronghold of Naxalites until a month ago. The state police along with CRPF and other paramilitary forces jointly launched an operation and uprooted the Naxalites from the area.
Operation Naxalite over, it was now time for Operation Hope. To show the people the bright side of governance and deliver hope. The District Collector of Garhwa, Mr. Ramesh Gholap, took this responsibility in his own hands, and undertook an adventurous journey filled with multiple rides to finally reach the panchayat of Budha Pahad. On arriving there, he became the first District Collector to visit Budha Pahad after Independence!
During an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Gholap shared his experiences on the journey to Budha Pahad, and his plans for the 11 villages falling under that panchayat.
THE JOURNEY
In the last few decades, murders and violence ruled the day in Budha Pahad. The region, which is 130 km away from the Garhwa district and sits amidst the mountains and forests, is filled with mesmerizing scenery, but, the continuous violence, gunshots and blasts had marred its beauty.
Since the area is now Naxal free, Collector Ramesh Gholpa and his team decided to pay a visit, under the state government programme, ‘Aapki Yojana-Aapki Sarkar-Aapke Dwar’. “We started the programme with Budha Pahad in our district,” the officer said.
The journey to the erstwhile Naxal stronghold was nothing short of an adventure. At 6 am on 12 October, Collector Golap and a few members of his staff reached a CRPF camp located in a remote forest. From there, he took a motorcycle ride for around 35-40 km through dense forest, river drains and mountainous road. “This is the same area in which six brave men of our police were martyred in the serial bomb blasts by Naxalites in 2018. By taking this ride, I saw all the places where our soldiers were martyred in multiple encounters with the Naxalites,” Mr. Gholap said.
BRINGING HOPE
After reaching Budha Pahad, he visited the government office houses and sat with the people to listen to their problems for more than an hour. Sharing this experience, he said, “I was told that I am the first DC to pay them a visit. So people were first of all very excited to see me. Also, they had great hopes for development and better lives. They shared with me all their problems and wanted solutions.”
The villages don’t have proper road connectivity, mobile network, and the school also needs development. In the meeting with the Collector, the people raised all these concerns and also demanded livelihoods and pensions under government schemes. Many are already enrolled in various pensions and welfare schemes of the government, but few have been left out. So, the administration will now focus on benefiting these few. Mr. Golap also distributed acceptance letters of many schemes to the beneficiaries.
READY TO DELIVER
To take it forward, Mr. Gholap also ordered the BDOs and all other officials to conduct door-to-door survey in all the villages that fall under the Buda Pahad panchayat. They were told to to collect information about the members of the families, their jobs, and what schemes they are eligible for.
“Our aim is to deliver all the government schemes to these people in the next 2-3 months,” Mr. Golap said.
The people here live difficult lives. They have to walk through hills to sell just one or two litres of milk. Under these circumstances, Mr. Gholap feels blessed to get the opportunity to do something for them, something that can better their lives, and renew their faith and hope in the administration.
